Trust
by ellie-kat89
Summary: Ranger asks Stephanie a few questions and Stephanie sees things clearly for the first time. Meant to take place during FLF. Babefic.
1. Chapter 1: Conversations

**Title:** Trust  
**Fandom:** Stephanie Plum  
**Pairing:** Ranger/Stephanie  
**Rating:** Teen  
**Summary:** Ranger asks Stephanie a few questions and Stephanie sees things clearly for the first time.  
**Word Count:** 1703  
**Notes:** Just a small moment I hope will be in Finger Lickin' Fifteen. Inspired by the excerpts posted on JE's site.

**Trust**

"Getting shot sucks," I stated lamely, my head resting back against Ranger's plush, ultra-comfortable Porsche seats. Even though Ranger was in his zone, staring calmly and from outward appearances, emotionlessly, through the windshield, he did flick his eyes in my general direction.

"Babe."

Now, his 'Babe's can mean a lot of things, but from previous experiences I knew that he was probably amused and maybe just a little bit exasperated; hell, I was exasperated at myself too… I hated getting shot and having to spend my afternoons in the ER. It was late now, the afternoon having past slowly, and it was nearly completely dark out except for a thin strip of light at the horizon.

We drove the rest of the way to my apartment in silence, the only sound being the purring of the engine and our own breathing. Even though we didn't open our mouths again that didn't mean that my mind wasn't going working, trying to make sense of the crazy past few days. I was not only still chasing skips (and apparently still getting shot by the ballsy, rogue skips even though Ranger had been in attendance) but also snooping around Rangeman, with Ranger's permission. I couldn't imagine someone from the inside of Rangeman going behind their boss's back to steal from clients… did they have a death wish?

We reached my apartment building and Ranger parked before coming around to help me out of the car. I was feeling tired and my head was pounding, and he knew it. We took the elevator up and I stayed out in the hall as he checked through my apartment for any crazy stalkers—or maybe _all_ stalkers were crazy? I was too tired to think about it right then.

"All clear," he said from inside and I walked in. Immediately heading to the couch, I plopped down with a groan. Ranger handed me a water bottle and I drank from it slowly as he sat down too… I was surprised that he had stayed.

"Ranger?" I turned my head to look at him and he responded with a simple nod of his head. "Did you mean what you said before, that you trust me right now, more than you trust Tank?" I was having difficulty imagining Ranger not trusting Tank completely. Tank was Ranger's right hand man and I suppose his best friend, why would he trust _me_ more?

Ranger was silent, gazing at me steadily for a moment before responding. "I always mean what I say, Babe."

I nodded my head. That made sense, Ranger never wasted his words and if he said something, he meant it. "But why do you trust me more? Tank's your best friend…."

Ranger lifted his arm and brushed a lock of hair behind my ear, the touch of his skin on mine making me shiver. "Steph, you show everything that you're feeling on your face. You couldn't deceive me. Like right now, I know that you want me bad."

I cursed my crazy hormones but said nothing. The truth was I always wanted him, stupid Cuban Sex God. I turned my head and faced forward, knowing that the longer I looked at him, the chances of me _accidentally_ jumping his bones increased.

He chuckled but then we fell into mostly comfortable silence. A few minutes passed before he got up to leave. I followed him, Burg manners dictating that I show him to the door.

Ranger suddenly stopped just before opening my door and turned around to face me. I half expected him to kiss me and I was surprised (and disappointed) when he didn't.

"Do you want to know why I trust you?"

I smiled. "What will the information cost me?" My smile faded as his face became completely stoic. "Sorry, that didn't come out the way I expected it to." I blushed red and looked down, fingering the bandage on my arm. His fingers lifted my chin and suddenly I was looking into his dark eyes, my breath caught in my throat. This was as close as we had ever gotten to actually talking about that one night.

"I trust you, because you trust me," he said evenly. "Even though knowing me isn't always good for your health."

My brows furrowed, confused. "I always trust you, implicitly… what do you mean knowing you isn't good for my health? You've saved my ass more times than I can count."

"Scrog."

I scoffed, shaking my head.

"If we had never met, he never would have hurt you," he continued, speaking simply.

"I guess that might be true but it doesn't change anything… it's not like I would go back and change anything about meeting you. You're my friend and you're going to stay that way." This was also the first time Scrog had come up in any of our conversations. It still pained me to think back to that fiasco and I knew that it bothered Ranger. My eyes flickered to the scar barely visible on his neck and felt shivers go up and down my spine. The truth was while I knew Ranger better than most people, and we'd even slept together, we had never talked like this before. I never liked talking about "feelings" and Ranger… was well Ranger.

"Why do you trust me?" he asked and I stared at him. This conversation had taken a turn to the unknown and wacky.

"B—Because I do, you're my friend."

"Babe you called me less than a week after our first meeting to tell me that you were handcuffed naked in your shower. Why did you trust me then?" Ranger asked, his face intense.

"Who else was I going to call, my mother? That conversation would have gone over _real_ well."

His eyes narrowed. "There were a lot of people you could have called, people you had known for longer than a couple of days."

I bit my lip, searching for an answer, but finding that I didn't really have one. "I—I just trusted you, I don't know how to explain it."

His gaze remained steady, his eyes burning into my own blue ones until I felt like he was reading my soul… it was disconcerting. "And that's why I trust you, I don't why, I just know that I do," he finished

I smiled, lips quirking upwards, finding that difficult conversations with Ranger were a lot different then talking to Morelli. If were to say something that Ranger disagreed with or didn't like, I knew it probably wouldn't end in a shouting match. "I thought you were supposed to know everything, you're Bruce Wayne."

His hand lifted and he cupped my face, his palm warm on my cheek. His thumb caressed my skin. "What's with you and Morelli?" he asked suddenly.

I opened my mouth and had to force the words out, when he was this close to me I felt more than a little unbalanced, and the sudden switch in topics was confusing. "We're in an 'off' phase."

"And how long do you think that is going to last?"

I thought back to before, when he had said that if Morelli was out of my bed for long that he would be back in it. _How long would it last?_ That was a good question. He'd said before that my back and forth with Joe was unhealthy behavior and even though I hadn't wanted to hear it then or think about it now, he was right. The thought of getting back together with Morelli was unappealing. "I'm considering permanently."

His nostrils flared and his eyes flashed but other then that there was no other expression on his face, but I knew him well him enough to know that I had surprised him.

"Why permanently?"

"A friend once told me that it was an unhealthy pattern of behavior, and I'm taking it to heart," I whispered.

He nodded and I could tell that he was thinking about smiling. "That's good advice, Babe."

"I think so too."

He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead, lips lingering for a moment before he pulled away. My heart was beating a mile per minute and I was a few seconds away from begging him to do more than kiss me on the temple.

"Later, Babe, call me if you need me," he instructed before leaving, closing and locking the door, my locks tumbling into place.

Like his 'Babe's, that 'need' had more than one meaning. I could call him for any reason, if I needed help to get out of one of my usual sticky situations, or if I just needed backup. But I also knew that somewhere, somehow something had changed. If Morelli was out of the picture, the ball was in my court instead of in Ranger's; if I needed him, _wanted_ him, then I would have to make the first move. Ranger wouldn't seduce me, he knew he wouldn't have to.

Even though there hadn't been anything overtly sexual about our encounter, just being near him had sent my body and heart into a frenzy. I ran my shaking hand through my curly hair and bit my lip, turning to face my suddenly empty apartment. The moment between us had been tender, intimate, and _loving_. I swallowed hard and sunk back onto the couch, the phone next to me on the other cushion, almost begging to be picked up and used.

My fingers twitched and with a surprising moment of clarity I grabbed it and hit the appropriate speed dial button, holding my breath as it rang.

"Joe we need to talk," I said when the person on the other end answered.

If I was going to end the unhealthy pattern of behavior, then I had to start now, not later. Life had suddenly turned the world upside down and I couldn't fight the progression of my feelings anymore, that much was clear. I was in love with Ranger but not Joe. I loved Joe, but not in the same way. It wasn't fair to Ranger, Joe, or myself to keep fighting it… even if Ranger hadn't changed his mind about relationships, _but God, I hoped he had._

TBC


	2. Chapter 2: Russian Roulette

**Title:** Trust  
**Chapter 2: Russian Roulette**  
**Fandom:** Stephanie Plum  
**Rating:** Adult (M)  
**Pairing:** Ranger/Stephanie  
**Summary:** Ranger asks Stephanie a few questions and Stephanie sees things clearly for the first time. Meant to take place during FLF. Babefic.  
**Word Count (this chapter):** 2308  
**Notes:** Okay, well, originally "Trust" was just going to be a one-shot but then I decided that I wanted to see the story through until Ranger and Stephanie got together so here is chapter 2. But please be warned that this is going to be a different story then most, since JE is going to be writing the mystery parts I won't do that, I will write the parts she probably won't write, the cute, sexy, and funny scenes with Ranger and Stephanie. Which means that while I may reference the problems at Rangeman and the dude that is chopping people's heads off, this story is not about that. And there is a very real chance that I probably won't solve the mystery by the end of this story, I'll leave JE to do that.

This story will probably end up being about four chapters long and as you will notice the rating has gone up for language and for the _fun_ stuff that will be at the end. ;)

**Chapter 2: Russian Roulette**

While waiting for Joe to come over ten minutes later for our long awaited "talk," I was certain that I had completely lost my mind. I had often wondered through the last three years if I had left my mind behind the moment I stepped into Vincent Plum Bail Bonds and asked for a job from my sleazy cousin, but now I was certain that I had. I was betting the future of my love life, which would then affect every other aspect of my crazy life, on a vague _hope_ that Ranger had changed his mind. I couldn't actually see a life with Joe working out the way he wanted it to but at the same time I didn't want to be alone. I did the alone thing after Dickie and I didn't care much for it.

What if Ranger hadn't changed his mind? What if the conversation was just about a freak sun spot that had frazzled Ranger's mind for a few crucial seconds? I paced around my apartment, my headache and the wound in my arm forgotten as doubts began to creep into my mind. I didn't want to back out but it felt like I was playing Russian Roulette with two bullets instead of just one. But now it felt like I couldn't back out if I lost my nerve, I had told Ranger that I was considering a permanent "off" with Joe. It felt like I would be lying and worse, letting Ranger down if I changed my mind. The revolver was glued to my hand and I _had_ to pull the trigger no matter what the chances of figuratively blowing my head off were.

In the middle of my pacing I heard a key in the lock. I turned and watched as Joe swung the door open, stepping into my apartment and closing the door behind him. He was dressed in his usual jeans and t-shirt but his face was anything but casual, his cop face was firmly in place. He knew what was coming and at least that made it easier, what I was about to say wasn't going to come as a surprise. I wasn't taken aback that he knew what I was going to say. I had never willingly "talked" before, after all living in the land of denial was easier than facing my problems. And the way I had spoken on the phone… "we have to talk," would probably always be construed as bad, the words that ended a relationship.

"How's the arm, Cupcake?" he asked, nodding towards my bandage.

I shrugged, my nerves making my annoying eye twitch come on full force. "Not too bad, the bullet just grazed me. Philip Esposito is gun happy."

"Yeah I know, he came into the station complaining of a broken arm."

I winced at his accusatory tone, remembering how Ranger had practically wrenched Esposito's arm off for having shot me. While the picture hadn't been pretty, Esposito's squeals had been rather humorous and I felt my lips twitch in a smile at the memory. Joe's lips tightened and I cleared my throat, wondering where to begin.

"Joe, I've been thinking…."

He sighed and his cop face slipped off, revealing how tired he looked. I didn't want to break his heart but this had to be done, for both of us. The sooner we were officially over, the sooner he could be happy, because I know the way I was now wasn't making him happy. He wanted a wife, someone he could come home to, and I didn't fault him for it, but I didn't, _couldn't_ be that woman.

"I've known for a long time that we both wanted different things out of life but I don't think I can live anymore with the back and forth between us, it's not… healthy." I took a deep breath and kept eye contact with him, knowing that looking down, no matter how uncomfortable I felt wasn't an option. "I think we would both be happier if we broke it off permanently."

I guess I expected a lot of hand waving and yelling but he didn't, he just nodded slowly as if agreeing with me. "I was hoping that you were just sowing your wild oats over the last couple of years, and that you'd…" he paused for a second, "grow out of it."

I shook my head. "No Joe… I don't I ever going to grow out of being me. I don't want a normal job, or a normal life. I don't always like my job, but on the good days I really do enjoy being a bounty hunter." There was more that I could say, so much more, but this was going better than I expected it to and I didn't want to ruin it. The truth was, the job was minor, but it was the people that I had met and continued to meet because of my job that mattered. I would never have met Ranger if I hadn't been a bounty hunter, or Lula and Sally Sweet. In particular, I couldn't imagine not knowing Ranger, in the span of three years he'd become the most important person in my life.

Joe and I were silent for a moment before I spoke again. "I'm sorry it didn't work out Joe," I whispered and absentmindedly kicked at my carpet. I _was_ sorry and knew that in a different life, falling in love with Joe would have been easy, but that life wouldn't have had Ranger in it.

"So am I, Cupcake." He took his keys out of his pocket and pulled my apartment key off, holding it for a moment before setting it down softly on the cheap end table next to my couch. The key made a clinking sound and it reminded me of a sound of finality, like a door closing on an era in my life.

Strangely enough, I didn't feel sad about letting Morelli go. I felt like I always did when I cleaned my apartment after I had let it get really dirty; there was a sense of accomplishment, like I had just done something I should have done a long time ago… I was proud of myself for biting the bullet and doing it. I would miss him, he'd been a constant in my life too long for me not to, but I also knew that if we spent enough time apart, that we could easily be just friends.

"I'll see you around Cupcake," he said before repocketing his keys and giving me a goodbye hug. He left then and I gave him a little finger wave as he took the stairs down; I closed the door after him and just like that Joe Morelli and I were over for good.

****

The next morning, I started my day with a cup of coffee, two donuts, and a stack of background reports on all of Rangeman's employees that Ranger had dropped off the day before. He'd been over them before of course but he was hoping that my spidey sense would pick something up; so far, I wasn't having any luck. I was currently combing through Cal's report, thinking that were just some things you didn't need to know about other people.

About half way through donut number two and thinking that I really should have gotten a third, my phone rang. Seeing Ranger's number on the display made all the memories from yesterday come rushing back and I felt my stomach clench. I was still in the middle of my figurative game of Russian Roulette; I had spun the chamber but had yet to pull the trigger. Breaking up with Morelli, while hard had been surprisingly painless. I had shed a few tears in the shower this morning over the emotional turmoil but I was feeling pretty good about the break up. The source of the tears was more about what I had to do next. Now that Morelli was out of the picture, I wondered what I was going to do about Ranger. I wanted Ranger, but knew that fundamentally I wouldn't be able to handle a "no strings attached, sex only" kind of relationship. But that was fundamentally, past experiences had shown me that I didn't have the best control where Ranger was concerned. Now that Morelli wasn't a factor anymore, I could imagine it being all too easy to throw that conviction out the window.

Breathing in deeply I answered. "Yo," I greeted.

"Yo, Babe." I honestly did not expect the rush of longing I got when I heard his voice and I had to bite my lip to keep in a whimper… apparently I wasn't very successful. "You okay?" his voice had grown serious, concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine, just uh… bumped my arm." Perhaps getting shot wasn't such a bad thing after all, it did provide me with some excellent excuses.

Ranger was silent for a long moment and I began to wonder if he knew what the whimper had really been about… _damn ESP_. "I'll be there in twenty, I don't want you driving." And then he hung up before I could even begin to form words.

I rolled my eyes and hit _end_, muttering about phone manners as I quickly finished my coffee. After the last swallow I threw away the wrappers to my donuts (now deeply wishing I had had a third, I was going to need another shot of sugar to make it through the day without humping Ranger's thigh like a dog). I hurried through the rest of my morning routine, brushing my teeth, dressing, and then applying my makeup. While brushing on my mascara I stared at myself in the mirror, giving myself a pep talk before Ranger showed up.

"Okay Stephanie," I began, speaking aloud, "this is what's going to happen today: you're going to go to work and you're going to find out who's stealing those codes from within Rangeman. Then you're not going to get involved in the case of the decapitating, machete wielding freak; then, most importantly, you're not going to beg Ranger to sleep with you, because not only would that be pathetic but the morning after would be disastrous." I finished my little talk with a firm nod of my head as I finished my mascara and slipped the tube in my purse.

Three minutes later I was tidying up the Rangeman files when my locks tumbled, informing me that my twenty minutes were up; I glanced at the watch and confirmed that it had been exactly twenty minutes since Ranger had called… _how did he do that?_ I wondered. I stacked the last Rangeman file (Lester's) on top of my large pile as Ranger opened my door. I inhaled deeply and then let the breath out slowly, reiterating my earlier pep talk to myself before turning around to face him.

Like most days he was dressed all in black, his shirt clinging tightly to his chest and his biceps, and his cargos perfectly showcasing one of his best assets (and yes the pun was intended). Truth was, while his butt was just about perfect (oh who was I kidding? It was damn fine) I had seen his best asset up close and personal and it _was_ perfect. Knowing that he was going commando underneath those black cargos was making my pulse go crazy and I had to check for drool just to make sure. Maybe resisting him was going to be even harder than I thought…. "_Fuck he's hot,_" I thought and then blushed hard when his wolf grin appeared. _Stupid Stephanie, you're not supposed to say that shit out loud, remember the pep talk?_

"Thank you Babe, I often think the same thing about you," he said, looking me up and down and if possible his grin widened. I was thinking that his smile could probably melt gold it was so blinding. "I like seeing you in black."

I swallowed hard, my knees wobbly and had to clench my thighs together tightly to make sure they just didn't just fall open under the weight of his lustful gaze. "Y—You didn't have to come pick me up, my arm isn't that bad…" I said, my voice annoyingly breathy.

He lost some of his "you-know-you-want-to-fuck-me look" and shook his head. "You shift with that arm, it's not worth the risk." That made sense, but even though I loved seeing him and his cars were always about a hundred times better than mine, being around him more than what was absolutely necessary made the no sex thing all the more difficult. He nodded towards the files and I tried to get my mind out of the gutter and back to business. "Did you find anything suspicious?" he asked.

I shook my head as we walked out of my apartment. I locked the door behind us, wondering if I should even bother locking it, my locks were the worst in New Jersey after all. "No, nothing yet. Everyone so far seems to be just as they seem," I uttered as we walked down the stairs and I gazed at the elevator longingly as we past it.

Ranger blew out a puff of breath, about as close to a sigh as he was probably ever going to get. "Giordano Jewelers in Newark was broken into last night, they've been under contract with us ever since I started Rangeman."

"Shit," I muttered, groaning. I'd heard of Giordano's and knew that it was one of the more upscale jewelry stores on the east coast. "How much was taken?"

"Almost fifty-million dollars worth of merchandise," Ranger replied, beeping the passenger side door open on the Turbo.

I stared at him over the top of the car, horrified. "Holy fuckity-fuck," I exclaimed.

"That about sums it up Babe."

TBC


End file.
